What type of exercise do you engage in? Weights, Yoga, Pilates, running, elliptical and the list goes on. Is one better than the other?! Tough question, with no easy answer. The answer may be in another question – How is your stamina? Whatever type of exercise program you follow does it provide you the ability to sustain prolonged physical effort?

If you do lost of cardio you will have a well developed cardiovascular system but may not be able to lift heavy weights; if you only lift (body building/split routines) you can lift heavy weights but will have almost no stamina. The Yoga and Pilates genre is great for flexibility, some strength and slightly better when it comes to stamina but not great.

So what is the approach needed if you want true stamina beyond just being able to run/do cardio mile after mile?

Well from a class or group exercise standpoint it would have to be crossfit. It’s a perfect blend of strength and stamina work. However there is a steep learning curve and chance of injury. But the answer was aforementioned – you need a blend.

Good examples of athletes that have the “blend” are boxers and MMA fighters. They have a great combination of strength and stamina. Surprise, surprise I have been doing martial arts for 30 years.

My current program is 3-4 days of martial arts training, 2-3 days of cardio and 1-2 days of lifting but when I lift it is a non stop burn, sort of like a MetCon in crossfit but longer and I hope safer.

I’m not advising anyone to fight round after round, but do you have the stamina to do it? Strive for that type of stamina and I promise you, your level of fitness will be superior!!

Here is quick update on my knees. I have started back with my martial arts training and all is going well, actually no aches and pains at all so far.

I recently changed my whole workout routine and will be avoiding heavy squats, with a much greater focus on functional movements and calisthenics. This type of training is surely still a test of my knee(s) integrity but more from a volume standpoint. That being said, I have been sore and tired after these workouts but again no issues with my knees.

I also just started my “kick/punch” training (12-15 rounds of heavy bag work, with both punches and kicks) and so far the knees feel good as well.

The only thing I haven’t tried is running, my cardio work has been all elliptical. Running in my last bout of knee issues was absolutely the main driving factor. Seeing as how this current regimen is working, I don’t feel like rocking the boat so l’ll stick with the current regimen.

Long story short it seems that the Synvisc One shots (http://bit.ly/2oz6x7P) are working.

So as I was training one of my clients the other day, it hit me that I may actually not be able to keep up with him/my programming. It was certainly bitter sweet seeing one of “pupils” doing so well but this also came on the tails of starting to feel winded while training martial arts and a realization that I can’t rest on my laurels.

It then dawned on me that since my last 10k race and my knee issues I have done zero cardio and only split routines for weight lifting. This would be great if I was a bodybuilder doing mass work in the winter but it doesn’t do much for my physical fitness and martial arts training. Am I in shape, yes certainly, am I fit…I think not currently.

That being said today was day one of my new training program and programming will be roughly as follows.

Two days of lifting focusing are minimal rest, lots of calisthenics, kettlebell work and functional movements.

Other days will be filled with cardio – elliptical, some running if my knees can handle it, and as much stretching as possible (at least 3 days a week), I really want to finally achieve a lotus position.

I will also try to maintain my current Kung Fu training at 3-4 days a week.

First and foremost, here is my disclaimer – I am not a Doctor and this is purely anecdotal.

I have had multiple surgeries for various sports/aggro life style issues over the years. Meniscus repairs on both of my knees and nerves removed from my both of my feet due to Morton’s neuromas. All of these surgeries have gone very well and were most certainly needed.

Here are the surgeries I have not had:

I have a 10mm tear in my supraspinatus in my right shoulder that my Doctor insisted I needed surgery on and told me after I mentioned a second opinion that all I would hear was I would need the surgery. I even went so far as to schedule a rotator cuff repair surgery and at the last second I cancelled.

I went on to rehab my shoulder on my own, I recommend if you are in this situation that you get the help of a good Physical Therapist (I can make recommendations). I won’t get into the particulars of my rehab but again get help from a PT, not everyone has twenty years in the health and fitness industry and I started my fitness career as a Physical Therapy aide and still to this day rely heavily upon my knowledge gained from that work experience.

That being said, I eventually went on to benching 255lb., I would also not recommend the bench press to anyone with shoulder issues, but thats just me being stubborn. Either way my point is that I didn’t get the surgery and I seem to be doing pretty well.

Another issue I am dealing with currently is another meniscus tear in my right knee. Often times a popliteal cyst develops with this condition. Extra synovial fluid in the knee generated due to the irritation in the knee becomes encapsulated by a coating that comes off the tendons and forms a cyst in the back of the knee. When that cyst gets big enough it starts to become uncomfortable. I went to see my Doctor about the issue and of course he recommended if it continued to have a meniscal repair.

I decided to hold off. I got a cortisone shot, I had the cyst drained by another Doctor, modified my workouts, rehabbed the knee on my own (again go to a Physical Therapist for your rehab), and the issue has calmed down. I will also be getting Synvisc One shots in both knees in the very near future as preemptive strike (http://bit.ly/2DlEpLH). I am back to my martial arts training and hope to be squatting 315lb. by Spring.

Is my path the right way or the wrong way, it’s neither it’s just my path. All I am suggesting in this anecdote is that you seek second opinions when facing surgery, not just from an Othopedic Doctor but a good Physical Therapist as well.

When all you have is a hammer, everything look like a nail. In my experience I didn’t always go with the hammer.

I hope this helps and please feel free to ask me questions about my experience and also feel free to ignore everything I have said as well.

It’s been a while since I have blogged, so I thought I’d give you a quick update.This will hopefully give some hope to those recovering from injuries.

So if you follow my ramblings you’ll know that I recently had a couple of foot surgeries, two in each foot in November 2016 and January 2017. The feet are doing well all things considered and I have entered into my first race since the “incident” The Turkey chase http://turkeychase.com on November the 23rd (come and run with me!!).

This is the first running I’ve done since the surgeries and the comeback has been a little trying but I’m confident that I’ll be ready for the event. It may not be my fastest 10k, but surely I will cross he finish line.

I have also started back at martial arts training and have also started teaching again. I will teaching the kids class on Fridays at 5PM which I love!! Bring your kids www.taiyimkungfu.com !!

With this uptick in my movement based training (I have been lifting weights steadily after stopping everything when I had the surgeries since March) my right knee has been a little unhappy. I have had meniscus repairs in each knee and in both knees developed popliteal cysts (very common with meniscus tears). My surgeon removed the cyst in the left knee but not in the right knee, and at times the cyst in my right knee will fill again, causing a tightness, general discomfort some pain.

It’s a simple fix, all that is needed is to drain the cyst. Recently I started training a very gifted orthopedic doctor – Dr. Gobind Sahi http://advancedorthopc.com/specialists/dr-sahi.php , (go see him if you have any orthopedic issues, he is amazing!!). I let him know about my issue and he was able to see me and take care of my cyst issue with great care and speed. I was in and out of his office in less than a half hour.

I need to rest for two days and will be back to full speed by this Friday, thank you Dr. Sahi!!

If there is a will, there is a way, don’t let injuries stop you from moving forward. With the right doctors, the right care, and the willingness it can be done.

I hope if you are injured that you get back up to speed ASAP. If you are having trouble navigating these waters please contact me. I specialize in post-rehab, and for what I can’t do for you, I will refer you to the experts I have met and made relationships with over the years.

There has been a change taking place within the industry and it has come to my hometown or should I say the hometown of my business JETT Training llc. For as many years as I can remember I have run JETT Training within the walls of Fitness First in Bethesda, MD while paying a fair and actually quite modest “trainer fee”.

This pass month – June 2017 with very short notice Fitness First was forced to close. Seeing the change in the winds I always kept my foot in the door at a gym a few miles north of Bethesda, Team Eckenrode Gym and Fitness. This is currently my new venue and I am very happy with the owner and the management.

Now to my point, as the rapacious development efforts in Bethesda are coming to fruition, Fitness First was squeezed out. When development of this type takes place the only types of gyms that can afford the new high rent are corporate gyms. Corporate gyms as rule do not allow independent trainers.

So where do the independent trainers go to practice their trade. I am extremely fortunate to have found a home at Team Eckenrode http://teameckenrode.com, however there are those of my colleagues that are still undecided, and others that have decided to become trainers at corporate gyms. I really don’t recommend the corporate gym option for several reasons. Your clients will no longer be yours, they will belong to the corporate gym and if you leave you can’t take them with you as there will be a non-compete and a proximity clause. You will also be working twice as much for half the pay (best case scenario if you are lucky).

That being said independent trainers as in most big cities are forced to exist in the nooks and crannies of the industry. Small boutiques studios, friends and or colleagues that own Yoga and Pilates studios, martial arts studios etc. There is no formula here and most of these relationships/studios are hard to find and tend not to be as well equipped as actual gyms. But if there is a will there is a way, and there are many a trainer that have had great success with this approach. The other option is to do strictly in-home training, which works quite well but many training hours are lost in transit.

On the client side of this equation, it can be a tough transition if the new venue of choice doesn’t offer all the amenities that they were used to in a gym. There may be no classes, no childcare, no towels etc. There can also be geographical challenges, I personally stand to lose five to six clients as a result of my change of venues. However this phenomenon is nothing new and many clients are already used to not having everything under one roof and are already taking an a la carte approach to their fitness needs or as I call it the “Manhattanization” effect on the fitness industry. What does Manhatanization mean, well to the gym industry it is what happens in all the larger cities, as mentioned earlier the independents exist in the nooks and crannies and clients have their fitness needs met in an a la carte fashion.

I think at the end of the day, independent trainers need to always be on the look out for places to train their clients because nothing is forever and your base of operations could change at anytime. If possible try to find a gym that is independent friendly and tell every trainer you know to join ASAP, there is strength in numbers. That is the situation I am in now and if the owner decides to close up shop the 50-60 independent trainers have a strong chance of rallying together to finance a new gym/base operations. Don’t wait until you have no options, always have a back up plan and talk with your colleagues about how you would handle a forced change of venue.

I will also add in this bit of advice always treat everyone in this manner – “I may work for you one day, and you may work for me one day”. You never know what the future holds and the more friends you have in the industry the more options you will have.

It seems an age since I have written a blog post, so I thought I’d check in with the JETT Nation and see what you’re up to.

I personally have been trudging along with my recovery from multiple foot surgeries (two neuroma surgeries on each foot). My last surgery was January the 13th, 2017 and my current rehab routine consists of trying to walk barefoot when I can and slowly testing the waters with my martial arts training. I have been able to resume weight lifting an am making good progress, and the elliptical doesn’t seem to bother me as far as my cardio is concerned.

It’s nice to be back in the game even if not at 100%, I am trying to remain as active as I can while convalescing but I truly think it will take a full year to get back to where I was before all the issues with my feet started.

Enough about me…what is the JETT Nation up to these days? Are you running, lifting, riding, swimming, becoming a yogi etc., let me know I would be interested to hear as I am very much living vicariously through the physical experiences of my clients these days.

Even if your not following a fitness routine I’d love to hear from your and maybe I can help change that. Especially if you are dealing with injuries, not only because that is one of fortes but because I have lived through many injuries in my day an my own issues have led me to better help my clients over the years.

Just how hard do we really need to train? Is more always better? How much is enough? These are tough questions to answer. Especially considering that we all come in various shapes, sizes, ages and fitness levels.

First and foremost anyone starting an exercise program should be healthy and medically cleared. I will of course tell you the easiest and safest way is to workout is with a qualified personal trainer or fitness coach.

Here is the approach I take with my clients:

Believe it or not most of my clients, whether they are athletes or stay-at-home-moms, follow a rather similar program. My programming is heavily focused on proper function and functional movements.

Function – meaning are you are moving properly – focuses on avoiding a situation where we are building fitness on top of dysfunction. Functional movements are exercises that provide strength building that has crossover into to the real world, or real strength as I like to call it.

The previous section is based on specific programming that may be above the average person’s base of knowledge. Again a trainer is a good idea – to be safe in your training you either need to know what you’re doing or train with someone that does and have good function.

All that is left in the scheme of safe and effective training is intensity. Here is where the largest variance lies with my clients. Each age cohort, and level of physical fitness, requires a different level of exercise intensity and is also the area of most potential risk and injury (assuming all conditions of function and proficiency are met).

Your level of intensity should be age and population appropriate and geared towards your current level of fitness. Someone beginning a training program that has been sedentary for a long period of time cannot be expected to train with the same intensity as an elite athlete. However it seems that some feel the need to always push beyond and this is a sure path to injury. Whatever your level of fitness, the intensity of training should match it and not exceed. Even an elite level athlete has his/her limits.

There are times when the general population or the athlete can push hard, but it must still be at measured pace. Most training programs are progressive. Even the most elite level athletes don’t take this fact lightly; a professional fighter doesn’t have a fight every day, and a runner doesn’t run a marathon every day. Many athletes actual taper their training programs as they are approaching a max physical output.

There is nothing wrong with maximal efforts when you are prepared, and I regularly encourage my clients to get involved in some type of competitive event to give them a goal and help them become more fit. But as I’ve said many times the output must be measured and prepared for.

Train hard but don’t train to destruction and watch how many maximal outputs you are performing. Then you will be one large step closer to training injury free.

This is a question that has been much debated over the years and does not come with an easy answer. I can tell you what has worked with my clients over my twenty years of training.

I cater to the general population, which let’s face it, thats most of us. I like to see two days of lifting a week, three to four days of cardio and a sound diet. Let me now elaborate on my three tiered approach.

With weight-lifting or negative resistance training I like full body workouts set up in a push/pull fashion, with a heavy emphasis on functional movements. I also like to focus on corrective movements based on the Functional Movement Screen (http://www.functionalmovement.com/fms) that I give to all my clients.

The cardiovascular approach we take is very low risk. Two days of elliptical and two days of spinning. Both are no impact cardiovascular options which is key to safety and continuance of regular cardiovascular training. Elliptical training should be done at 55-65% of maximal heart rate to help build a strong cardiovascular base. Spinning covers the need for interval training which is essential. See link for good explanation: http://www.sparkpeople.com/blog/blog.asp?post=7_good_reasons_to_try_interval_training.

As far as diet is concerned, we have a very specific approach that combines a detox cleanse and simple to follow five meal a day approach. It is very much based on being able to fit into the busy schedules that everyone seems to have these days. For more details see link: http://jettllc.biz/services/nutrition/.

I hope this helps and if you are interested in further explanations or just general FAQs please feel free to peruse our website www.jettllc.biz.

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